The Dolphins decided to do everything they could to limit Jimmy Graham and take away Marques Colston from the Saints' offense. So Drew Brees and Sean Payton chose to use their other mismatch problem, Sproles. The speedy, diminutive running back dazzled against the Miami Dolphins with seven receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown and four rushes for 28 yards and a score.

Sproles caught the Dolphins off guard on his first pass route on the Saints' opening drive. He fooled the Miami defender on a wheel route up the Dolphins' sideline and Brees found a wide-open Sproles on what started as a 16-yard reception. Sproles did the rest as he turned the play into a 48-yard gain. Sproles capped the drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown, the first rushing TD by a Saints running back this season.

To the chagrin of the Dolphins, Sproles didn't stop there.

Sproles took a screen pass on third-and-20 at the Saints' 40. He zigged and zagged his way through Miami defenders for a 21-yard gain to extend the drive. Graham came down with another highlight-reel TD reception, this time a 27-yard.

Sproles capped off his first-half high-wire act with a 13-yard TD grab with 55 seconds left in the half to push the Saints ahead 21-10. The Saints tailback's lone hiccup came late in the fourth quarter when he fumbled inside the Dolphins' 5.

Payton said it wasn't necessarily the game plan to feature Sproles on Monday night. Payton said it was a byproduct of teams trying to limit Graham.

TURNOVERS TO TOUCHDOWNS

Creating turnovers is one thing. Cashing them in for touchdowns on the ensuing drives is the ultimate dagger. The Saints have transformed three of their last four takeaways into offensive touchdowns against Arizona and Miami.

Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton stripped Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the open field, allowing Rafael Bush to scoop the loose ball. Brees found Graham for his first of two TD receptions on the next drive.

Cornerback Jabari Greer picked off Tannehill late in the second quarter. Sproles turned the turnover into his second TD of the first half to push New Orleans'a lead to 21-10 going into halftime.

New Orleans started the trend last week against the Cardinals. Kenny Vaccaro's fourth-quarter interception turned into a Graham 7-yard TD catch.

MIKE WALLACE

He's more in the "you didn't see" category as the high-priced receiver didn't put on any sort of show in his first game with the Dolphins in his hometown. Wallace only caught three passes for 24 yards as the Saints' defense held one of the fastest receivers in the NFL in check.

Wallace missed out on a chance for a momentum changer early in the second quarter. Former O. Perry Walker and Steelers teammate Keenan Lewis played solid coverage on Wallace as the Dolphins wideout darted up the Saints sideline on a go route. Tannehill launched a near-perfect ball, but what caused the imperfection was Wallace's hands as he dropped the pass more than Lewis broke it up.

Saints backup cornerback Corey White jarred the ball away from Wallace with a big hit in the third quarter to force another incompletion. Junior Galette sacked Tannehill on the next play, forcing a punt. The Saints made it 35-10 on the next play with Graham's 43-yard TD reception.

KEY MATCHUP

JIMMY GRAHAM VS. ANY MIAMI DEFENDER

The Dolphins slowed down Graham a decent bit during the first half by using bracket coverage. It worked, for a while. Then Brees threw his way despite the two defenders in the vicinity.

Brees saw Graham on a go route up the sideline near the goal line with three Miami defenders lurking around the Saints' tight end. Graham made a leaping grab for a 27-yard TD reception for his only catch of the first half.

Brees found Graham only three times in the second half for 73 yards, including a 43-yard TD strike against single coverage. It seems like no one can stop Graham right now.

BY THE NUMBERS

4 - Times the Saints have started a season 4-0 in franchise history

9 - Consecutive wins on Monday night for Brees, via ESPN

13.75 - Points the Saints have allowed on average through four games this season

18 - Sacks Tannehill has taken this season, leading the NFL

37 - Khiry Robinson's team-leading rushing yards vs. Miami

38 - Robinson's team-leading rushing yards vs. Arizona

FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH

"It was a good, hard-fought team win tonight. We did a lot of things well. It certainly wasn't a perfect game, but I thought we played with very good energy. Had a good week of practice and thought we beat a good team also. We've got a lot of respect for those guys and what they've been able to accomplish early in the season. We felt like we were going to have to play one of our better games." -- Payton